Manuscripts

August Wilhelm Wern reminiscences

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Description: Wern's manuscript covers his entire life form his birth and childhood in Prussia to his life in Los Angeles in 1914. In it Wern describes in detail his move to the United States, training as a shoemaker, his decision to move to California and his journey there, the miners he served in his store, his financial struggles, his yearlong trip to Europe, and life in San Francisco and the mining camp of Susanville. After the description of his move to Los Angeles, Wern talks about the 1885 real estate boom and other ventures such as growing walnuts in Orange County.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1901-1914.
Call number: mssHM 68166
Creator: Wern, August Wilhelm (1837-)(Opens in new tab)

James Franklin Burns reminiscences

Manuscripts

Burns details his move from Michigan to California in 1853. He also discusses his time as L.A. Chief of Police and County Sheriff including crimes that were committed while he held these positions and criminals he helped prosecute. Burns also talks about his actions during the 1871 Chinese Massacre in Chinatown and politics in California and Los Angeles.

mssHM 66765

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Mary Ann Hafen reminiscences

Manuscripts

This small group consists of three letters Mary wrote to her children and relatives as well as two versions of reminiscences of her family's voyage from Switzerland to New York City and then on to Utah in a handcart company. In these accounts she describes the harsh conditions of their journey to Utah and the struggles of frontier and pioneer life. With the help of her son, Le Roy Reuben Hafen (1893-), his wife Ann W. (Ann Woodbury) Hafen (1893-1970), and granddaughter, Juanita Brooks (1898-), Mary was able to publish her life story, "Recollections of a handcart pioneer of 1860: with some account of frontier life in Utah and Nevada" in 1938.

mssHM 66379-66383

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Thomas Day reminiscences

Manuscripts

This is a typescript collected by Juanita Broooks from a manuscript loaned by Fannie Stott. It describes Thomas Day's early childhood in England working at various factories to suppport his family; his conversion to Mormonism; his work as a missionary in England; the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean; his life in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in Utah at Kanarraville, Circleville, Saint George, Salt Lake City, and Spanish Fork; and his contact with Native Americans while a missionary and in traveling.

mssHM 66576

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Wilhelm, Christina

Manuscripts

The collection consists of maps, field books, legal documents, business papers, and diaries related to the work of surveyors George Hansen, Alfred Solano, Sidney B. Reeve, and others. The maps and surveys in the collection are of the city of Los Angeles, Southern California ranchos, and subdivisions of the city of Los Angeles and neighboring towns. The collection contains over maps and sketch maps. Other subjects represented in the collection include: civil engineering, land subdivision, mines and mineral resources, and daily life in Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.

mssSolano

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Experiences and reminiscences of Raymond William Milnor

Manuscripts

In this manuscript, Milnor reminiscences about his life. He talks about his childhood in Iowa where he played around railroad tracks and attended a school with a graduating class of 14 students. He talks about his work with the railroads and trips he took. He talks briefly about his time in the war and time spent at Yellowstone Park on his journey to California. Milnor ends his reminiscences with several pages covering his life in southern California - his varying jobs, the many times his family moved around, his daughters' education, family vacations, his retirement, etc.

mssHM 73895

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August F. W. Partz letter to C. Elton Buck

Manuscripts

A wide-ranging letter from August F. W. Partz to his business partner C. Elton Buck. This letter begins with his efforts to gain control over a massive mercury mine near New Idria, CA, what he describes as "the biggest quicksilver property in the world." He goes on to describe a new desulphurizing process, a variety of negotiations for the purchase of gold mines, plans for a stamp mill at Blind Springs, and a wealth of other mining topics. This is not a Gold Rush letter from a humble prospector, but rather from an industrialist thinking on a large scale. With a full typed transcript. Written in San Francisco; with numerous editorial marks and revisions.

mssHM 82585

August Wilhelm Wern reminiscences

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James Franklin Burns reminiscences

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Wilhelm, Christina

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August F. W. Partz letter to C. Elton Buck